BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Caldwell College baseball team put itself back in the race for a playoff spot with two victories over Bloomfield College, 17-5 and 11-5 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Wright's Field. The wins follow three straight victories over the University of the Sciences on Friday and Saturday, giving the Cougars a 16-18 record overall and a 10-11 mark in league play. The Deacons, who beat Caldwell 12-0 on Apr. 23, drop to 16-20, 13-8 CACC.
In Game 1, the Cougars built a 4-0 lead through 4 1/2 innings, as senior Adric Saxon (Coral Springs, FL/Broward CC) drove in runs in the first and fifth innings, and freshman Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, NY/Bayside) hit a two-run single in the third. The Deacons got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a lead-off home run by Alex Sepulveda, then took the lead with a four-run seventh. Emilio Fernandez and Alberto Ruiz each had two-run singles in the inning for a 5-4 Bloomfield lead.
Saxon, left, answered for Caldwell by leading off the eighth with a homer to tie the game at 5-5. Ynoa followed with a single, then later came home on a grounder by junior Miguel Perdomo (Teaneck, NJ/Bergen Catholic) for the go-ahead run. Looking to expand its one-run lead in the top of the ninth, Caldwell struck for 11 runs on nine hits and two errors to take a commanding 17-5 advantage. Junior Juan Pinero (Bronx, NY/Columbus) hit a three-run home run and had an RBI single in the inning. Senior Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) and juniors Jon Irwin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and Ray Keelan (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) each had two-run hits.
The Cougars racked up a season-high 21 hits, as all nine starters recorded at least one hit. Saxon went 4-for-6 with three runs and four RBI, while Torres, Irwin and Keelan each tallied three hits. Freshman right-hander A.J. Boardman (Sunnyside, NY/St. Francis Prep) pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief of starter Thomas Forkin (Oceanside, NY/Holy Trinity) to earn the win and improve to 2-3 on the season.
Caldwell struck first in Game 2, as Torres, right, hit a solo home run in the top of the first. Anderson Minyetty led off the bottom of the first with a home run to tie the game at 1-1. In the bottom of the third, Bloomfield scored four runs on four hits and an error to take a 5-1 lead. The Cougars still trailed by four runs heading into the top of the seventh for their final at-bat. With runners at first and second and two outs, Torres came through with a three-run blast to make the score 5-4. Keelan followed with a solo shot to tie the game at 5-5 and giving the Cougars new life. Bloomfield failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Caldwell scored the go-ahead run when Ynoa came home from second on an error. Sophomore Juan Mejia (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) followed with a pinch-hit, two-run single, then Keelan belted a three-run blast for his second homer of the game and the sixth long ball for Caldwell on the day. In the bottom of the eighth, the first two batters reached on a single and an error. But junior Buddy Riggs (Coral Springs, FL/Taravella) induced a double play ball and a groundout to end the game. Riggs (5-2) went the distance, allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits while striking out nine and walking none. Keelan, Ynoa and junior Omar Velazquez (Astoria, NY/Long Island City) had three hits apiece in the win.
The Cougars, who are now within 1 1/2 games of fourth place and the final spot in the CACC Tournament, play first-place Dominican College in a doubleheader on Monday, Apr. 27. The first game starts at 1:00 p.m. in Orangeburg, N.Y.
